Atchafalaya

National Wildlife 

Refuge

Managed as part of Sherburne Complex

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Tom Carlisle
This blue goose, 

designed by J.N. 

“Ding” Darling, 

has become the 

symbol of the 

National Wildlife 

Refuge System.

This basin contains over one-half 

million acres of hardwood swamps, 

lakes and bayous, and is larger than 

the vast Okefenokee Swamp of 

Georgia and Florida. It is an immense 

natural floodplain of the Atchafalaya 

River, which flows for 140 miles south 

from its parting from the Mississippi 

River to the Gulf of Mexico. 

The fish and wildlife resources 

of the Atchafalaya River Basin 

are exceptional. The basin’s dense 

bottomland hardwoods, cypresstupelo swamps, overflow lakes, 

and meandering bayous provide a 

tremendous diversity of habitat for 

many species of fish and wildlife. 

Ecologists rank the basin as one of 

the most productive wildlife areas in 

North America.

The basin also supports an 

extremely productive sport and 

commercial fishery, and provides 

unique recreational opportunities to 

hundreds of thousands of Americans 

each year. 

Every year, thousands of migratory 

waterfowl winter in the overflow 

swamps and lakes of the basin, 

located at the southern end of the 

great Mississippi Flyway. The lakes 

of the lower basin support one of the 

largest wintering concentrations of 

canvasbacks in Louisiana. 

The basin’s wooded wetlands also 

provide vital nesting habitat for 

wood ducks, and support the nation’s 

largest concentration of American 

woodcock. More than 300 species of 

resident and migratory birds use the 

basin, including a large assortment 

of diving and wading birds such as 

egrets, herons, ibises, and anhingas. 

Eagles, ospreys, swallow-tailed kites, 

and Mississippi kites can occasionally 

be seen soaring overhead. Wild 

turkeys have been reintroduced to 

the basin and their populations are 

increasing.

Wildlife

Steve Maslowski

Wood duck; 

America’s Great River Swamp 

Deep in the heart of Cajun Country, 

at the southern end of the Lower 

Mississippi River Valley in southcentral 

Louisiana, lies the nation’s largest 

complex of forested wetlands — the 

Atchafalaya River Basin.

photo opposite: 

Lake Martin, Cypress 

Island by Donna 

Bush © 
Forest-dwelling mammals include 

the white-tailed deer, gray and 

fox squirrels, eastern cottontail, 

swamp rabbit, gray and red fox, 

coyote, striped skunk, and opossum. 

Commercially important furbearers 

found in this great swamp are 

raccoon, mink, bobcat, nutria, 

muskrat, river otter, and beaver. A 

small remnant population of black 

bears also exists. 

The aquatic resources of the basin are 

phenomenal. The Atchafalaya River 

and its myriad bayous, overflow lakes, 

and seasonally flooded hardwood 

swamps support a great abundance 

of fish and crustaceans. The lifeblood 

of the fishery is the basin’s annual 

flooding and dewatering cycle. 

Overflows result from the winter 

and spring rains, with many areas 

gradually becoming dewatered 

during the summer and fall. This ebb 

and flow of water continually revives 

food and nutrient production, thus 

contributing to the diversity and 

abundance of the fishery. 

Sportfishing is popular throughout 

the basin. 

Largemouth 

bass, white and 

black crappie, 

warmouth, 

bluegill, redear 

sunfish, and 

channel catfish 

are the primary 

species sought. 

More than 

85 species of 

fish occur in 

the basin, and 

their populations frequently exceed 

1,000 pounds per acre. Red swamp 

crawfish, white river crawfish, and 

blue crabs are also important from 

both a sport and commercial harvest 

standpoint. 

The basin’s commercial fisheries are 

also extremely valuable. Crawfish are 

by far the most important component, 

with an estimated average annual 

commercial harvest of nearly 22 

million pounds. The most important 

commercial finfishes include catfish, 

buffalo, and freshwater drum. 

The combined fish, wildlife, and 

related recreational and commercial 

values of the Atchafalaya River 

Basin are so important that a major 

cooperative state and federal effort 

is underway to preserve and manage 

the natural resources of the area.

The Louisiana 

Department 

of Wildlife and 

Fisheries owns 

the 11,780-acre 

Sherburne Wildlife 

Management Area. 

The U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service 

has established 

Atchafalaya National 

Wildlife Refuge on 

15,220 acres adjacent 

to the Sherburne 

Wildlife Management 

Area. In addition, 

the U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers has purchased 

over 16,000 acres in the vicinity of 

both of these areas. All of these 

public lands are managed by the 

Louisiana Department of Wildlife 

and Fisheries under a cooperative 

multiagency agreement.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife 

and Fisheries manages public use 

such as hunting and fishing on all the 

lands as part of Sherburne Wildlife 

Management Area. A self-clearing 

check-in/check out permit is required 

and a sport hunting or fishing license 

or a LA Wild Stamp is required to 

enter any part of the management 

area, including the federal 

government lands.

Aquatic 

Resources

Public Land 

Management

Warmouth

Duane Raver

Red fox

Dave Schaffer

Randy Lennon

Great blue heron
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Wood duck pair

Dave Menke

Good forest management is essential 

to the protection and enhancement 

of the wildlife within the basin. The 

Louisiana Department of Wildlife 

and Fisheries, the U.S. Army Corps 

of Engineers, and the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service are responsible for 

a wide range of forest management 

programs on the preserved areas of 

the basin. These programs ensure 

that the area’s productivity for 

wildlife remains high. Planting, 

thinning, and selective vegetation 

regeneration 

are a few of 

the forestry 

management 

techniques 

utilized to 

improve wildlife 

habitat. Mature 

forests are also 

being preserved 

and left intact 

for species which 

require this 

habitat. 

The 15,220-acre Atchafalaya National 

Wildlife Refuge was established by 

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

in 1986. It is located adjacent to the 

Sherburne Wildlife Management 

Area and is managed by the 

Louisiana Department of Wildlife 

and Fisheries under a cooperative 

agreement with the state. 

Seasonally flooded impoundments 

exist for the benefit of migratory 

waterfowl. Agricultural fields have 

been converted to native hardwood 

forests for both waterfowl and upland 

wildlife. A large increase in the 

production of wood ducks and hooded 

mergansers is being achieved through 

the use of artificial nest structures.

Public hunting is allowed on the refuge 

for migratory waterfowl and upland 

and big game species. All seasons, 

rules, and regulations conform to those 

of the adjacent Sherburne Wildlife 

Atchafalaya 

National Wildlife 

Refuge 

Sherburne 

Wildlife 

Management 

Area

Management Area. The refuge is 

popular for white-tailed deer hunting 

and is especially noted for its youth 

and handicapped hunts.

The refuge is open year-round for 

sportfishing in accordance with state 

fishing regulations. 

The State of Louisiana’s Sherburne 

Wildlife Management Area is located 

in the upper third of the Atchafalaya 

River Basin between Interstate 10 

and U.S. Highway 190. It covers 

approximately 11,780 acres and was 

established in 1983 by the Louisiana 

Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. 

The area supervisor’s headquarters 

is located east of Krotz Springs, 

Louisiana, on LA 975 approximately 

three miles south of U.S. Highway 

190.

This wildlife management area is 

being managed to provide a variety 

of habitats for native and migratory 

wildlife and to promote public outdoor 

recreation. A camping area, boat 

launching ramp, and shooting range 

are available for use by the public. 

Each year thousands of visitors 

participate in hunting, fishing, 

camping, wildlife photography, target 

shooting, and nature study.

The shooting range has 

accommodations for rifle, pistol, and 

shotgun shooters to sharpen their 

marksmanship skills.

Hunting is 

permitted on 

the Sherburne 

Wildlife 

Management 

Area for 

white-tailed 

deer, squirrel, 

rabbit, raccoon, 

woodcock, and 

waterfowl.

Green-heron

F. Eugene Hester USFWS

White-tailed deer
Fishing is excellent for largemouth 

bass, crappie, catfish, and sunfish. 

Both hunting and fishing are subject 

to current state regulations, which 

are available from the headquarters 

office.

The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers 

owns 50,000 acres within the 

Atchafalaya Basin. The Bayou Des 

Ourses (Bayou of the Bears) Area,

which consists of over 16,000 acres is 

managed cooperatively with the U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, and the 

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and 

Fisheries, as part of the Sherburne 

complex.

The area is being managed to provide 

a variety of habitats for native and 

migratory wildlife and to promote 

public outdoor recreation and access. 

A variety of outdoor recreational 

opportunities are offered such as 

hiking, birdwatching, hunting, 

fishing, and horseback riding. Public 

hunting is allowed on the complex for 

migratory waterfowl, small game, and 

big game species. 

The Bayou Des Ourses Area is 

located to the east of the Atchafalaya 

River between Interstate 10 and 

U.S. Highway 190. Season dates, 

rules, and regulations are found in 

the Louisiana Department of Wildlife 

and Fisheries State hunting pamphlet 

as part of the Sherburne Wildlife 

Management Area.

For further information on the 

Sherburne Wildlife Management 

Area and/or public use of the 

Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge, 

please contact: 

Area Supervisor

Sherburne Wildlife 

Management Area

P.O. Box 127

Krotz Springs, LA 70750

Telephone: 337/566 2251

The U.S. Army 

Corps of 

Engineers

For further information on USACOE 

Lands, please contact:

Park Manager

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

112 Speck lane

Port Barre, LA 70577

Telephone: 337/585 0853

Equal opportunity to participate in, and 

benefit from programs and activities of the 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is available to 

all individuals regardless of physical or mental 

disability. For information please contact 

the U.S. Department of the Interior, Office 

for Equal Opportunity, 1849 C Street, NW, 

Washington, D.C. 20240.

Little blue heron

George Gentry

Donna Bush ©

American alligator

Snowy egret

Ryan Hagerty
Atchafalaya 

National Wildlife Refuge

61389 Highway 434 

Lacombe, LA 70445

Phone: 985/882 2000

Fax: 985/882 9133

E-mail: atchafalaya@fws.gov

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 

1 800/344 WILD 

http://atchafalaya.fws.gov

August 2006